Heatable package with displaceable fluent substance



Nov. 10, 1970 EISLER 3,539,772-

HEATABLE PACKAGE WITH DISPLACEABLE FLUENT SUBSTANCE ori inal Filed Nov.17, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet l FIG 5 54 INVENTOR.

POJL I E 1' s lav ATTORNEY NOV. 10, 1970 EISLER 3,539,772

HEATABLE PACKAGE WITH DISPLACEABLE FLUENT SUBSTANCE Original Filed Nov.17, 1967 3 SheetsSheet 2 FIG. 6

INVENTOR. QuLl E15|AF ATTORNEY Nov. 10, 1970 P. EISLER 3,539,772HEATABLE PACKAGE WITH DISPLACEABLE FLUENT SUBSTANCE origmal Filed Nov.17, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

[ 1 {is/er QQMWQW ATTORNEY 3,539,772 HEATABLE PACKAGE WITH DISPLACEABLEFLUENT SUBSTANCE Paul Eisler, 57 Exeter Road, London, WC. 2, EnglandOriginal application Nov. 17, 1967, Ser. No. 684,068.

Divided and this application Aug. 28, 1969, Ser. No. 853,892

Int. Cl. F27d 11/02 H0511 3/34 US. Cl. 219-386 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE This application is a division of copending applicationentitled Heating Package, Ser. No. 684,068 filed Nov. 17, 1967, by thesame inventor and now Pat. No. 3,483,358, issued Dec. 2, 1969, which isa continuation of Ser. No. 102,820 filed Apr. 13, 1961, now abandoned.The disclosure of the copending application is incorporated herein byreference. 1

The present invention relates to packages of substances in dispensiblecontainers 'which are required to be heated,

and now particularly, it relates to disposable packages heated bydispensible low-voltage type heating film means.

Foodstufi is one type of fluent substance to which the invention applieswhere it is desired to, heat the substance immediately prior to use. Theinvention combines three elements; firstly, a dispensible container;secondly, dispensible low-voltage type heating film means forelectrically heating the substance and, thirdly, pressure controlleddischarge or manipulating means for displacing the substance in thecontainer from its resident position across a discharge flow pathcontacting the heating film.

In the present invention, the heating film means is not only associatedwith the food or other substance and the package in a manner to transmitheat to the substance from its entire surface, but is also associated'with a device or manipulating provision which may, for example,facilitate the handling of the film either during the heat ing orafterwards, when it is being disassociated from the food.

Some varieties of combination of dispensible container, heating filmmeans and manipulating means, are de scribed in greater detailhereinafter with reference to examples illustrated in the accompanyingdiagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 are perspective views partly cut away of two containerembodiments of the invention,

FIG. 3 illustrates an application of the invention to a vending machine,

FIG. 4 is a side 'view, partly in section, of a collapsible container,

FIG. 5 is a plan view of another embodiment of collapsible container,

FIG. 6 is a section view, partly in phantom, of a collapsible containerembodiment,

FIG. 7 is a perspective view, partly cut away, of yet another embodimentwith a collapsible container,

FIG. 8 is a side view, partly in section, of an embodi- United StatesPatent 0 ment 1n which a heating container is supplied from acollapsible tube,

3,539,772 Patented Nov. 10, 1970 FIG. 9 is a cross section on the line9-9 of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal and FIG. 11 a detail section of an embodimentwith a multiple compartment collapsible container,

FIG. 12 is a longitudinal section and FIG. 13 is a detail section ofanother embodiment with a multiple compartment collapsible container,

FIG. 14 is a longitudinal section and FIG. 15 a longitudinal section atright angles to FIG. 14 of yet another embodiment with a multiplecompartment collapsible container, and

FIG. 16 is a side view and FIG. 17 a detail cross section of anembodiment in the form of a flexible tube associated with a bottle.

In FIG. 1 the container is a flexible bag 34 with, for example, twoheating films 35 within it. The terminals are folded over and before usecovered by slotted boards 36, the edges of which are covered by aneasily torn seal 37. For use the seal is torn and the boards bent up tothe chain line position in which access can be had to hold the terminalsby a spring clip connector. The other end of the bag is sealed by athermoplastic bond at 38 which releases when the food is hot. The boards36 can then be bent still further and used to compress the bag tosqueeze the contents out at the other end, the bag being held in thespring clip during this operation.

In FIG. 2 a flexible bag is lined with a heating film flap 41incorporating the terminals being lapped over to close the end of thebag. The flap is opened to the chain line position for connections forheating and when the contents are heated a stiffener 42 on the other endof the bag assists in rolling up this end to express the con tents atthe open end. This embodiment is suitable where it is desirable that thepackage should be opened before heating.

A collapsible tube construction is also convenient for use in acoinfreed or similar vending machine, in which case a long tube 43 FIG.3 may be subdivided by unfilled necks 44 into lengths each constitutingone portion. The heating film not shown presents terminals at the necks.Feed is effected by the aid of a belt 45 suitably of synthetic rubber.At the entry end of the machine, a roller 46 is vertically movable aswell as rotatable and carries terminals 47 and a knife 48. At the otherend, the tube 43 passes between squeezing rollers 49.

During one operating cycle a plate 51 is placed in position and theroller 46 is brought against the neck 44 and rotated to bring theterminals 47 into contact with the terminals in the neck 44. At the endof heating (which may be determined manually or under automatictemperature control) the roller 46 is rotated sufficiently to disconnectthe terminal and cause the knife 48 to cut the tube 43. The roller isthen displaced downwardly and the rollers 49 rotated to feed the tube 43to the left during which operation the action of the rollers squeezesthe heated food through the cut into the plate while a new length oftube comes into position. The downward displacement of the roller 46permits the tube 43 to run over the guide roller for the belt 45. Theplate 51 with the heated food can now be removed, while the squeezedtube passes into a waste vessel 52. The mechanical operations arereadily affected by the aid of cams or similar means by a mechanismwhich automatically goes through a single cycle each time it is set inaction as by the insertion of a coin.

Cases arise in which it is desirable to heat a substance packaged in acollapsible container not before it is squeezed out, but duringsqueezing out or even after. For such cases the invention provides forthe heating film to be held in a nozzle or in separate container towhich the collapsible container is attached.

Thus, in FIGS. 4 and 5 a nozzle 53 is provided intended to be used inspreading the contents of a collapsible tube 54 in a thin layer. Theheating film 55, provided with terminals 56, is on the inside wall ofthe nozzle which is supplied for screw attachment to the collapsibletube 54 by the user who removes the ordinary screw cap when he wishes toheat the substance in the tube while squeezing it out. It will be clearthat instead of the nozzle being shaped to spread the substance in athin, layer, other forms of nozzle are quite practical which aremodelled on extrusion dies to enable a substance to be squeezed out witha corresponding cross section while being heated.

This arrangement is very suitable in cases where only a moderate heatingeffect is required, as for example various edible spreads, syrups or thelike which are not very deeply frozen, but which need to be heated alittle to enable them to be spread thinly on soft bread or cake.

FIG. 6 illustrates a squeeze pack in which a nozzle 57 heated by the aidof a heating film 58 is immersed deeply in the substance so that it notonly heats the substance just flowing through it, but also at leastsoftens the substance around it. In order to ensure that even the lastresidue of the substance can be forced through the open inner end of thelong tubular nozzle and not pressed forward into a blind end of thecontainer, the container is made up of a flexible lining 59 and sidewalls 61 which are hinged but stiff, or are operated by a stilf leverarrangement. The chain lines indicate the movement in the course ofsqueezing.

FIG. 7 illustrates a squeeze pack with an integral or push-on nozzle 62with heating film 63- extending over the full Width of the container. Ifit is a push-on nozzle it may be fixed on the container by side flaps 64of the container at which the container is opened passing through slotsin the nozzle structure and being folded over. The

push-on portion of the nozzle is made of flexible material to enable thecontainer to be squeezed right to the end.

FIGS. 8 and 9 illustrate the attachment of the collapsible tube to aseparate container. Here a separate container 65 contains several layers66 of heating film with terminals 67 and is attached by the user to asqueeze pack 6-8 containing, for example, a pancake mixture which ispressed by the user into the pre-heated or cold separate container. Eachlayer of the mixture is heated from both sides. Anti-stick wrappingfilms, for example, of regenerated cellulose material, are interposedbetween the heating films and the pancakes in order to ensure troublefree removal of the cakes after heating.

Room-temperature curing compounds are frequently prepared as two potmixes. Neither of the two components cures on its own, but when mixed,the mixture will cure. The difliculty has been to devise a mixingprocess where they can be mixed without being exposed to frictional orother heat which causes cure to start in the mixing vessel.

The packages illustrated in FIGS. to are examples of applications of thepresent invention to the solution of this problem by the provision oftwo impermeably separated compartments in a collapsible container, whichare heated by one or more layers of heating film, the container havingan opening or nozzle through which both compartments discharge.

The separating wall extends into the tip of the nozzle so that thesubstances in the two compartments can be squeezed through the nozzle atthe desired temperature in the desired quantity relation only meetingand thoroughly mixing at the very tip of the nozzle.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show a squeeze pack of triangular longitudinal sectionwith a heating film forming or carried by an impermeable wall betweentwo unequal compartments, flexible bottom ends 71 and rigid walls 72 formanipulation, these walls leading to a nozzle at 73 almost to the tip ofwhich the wall 69 extends and against which the nozzle walls can bepressed as in FIG. 11 for closing the container without leaving anymixed substances behind 4 or evenleaving any minute pathways between thetwo compartments. The terminals of the film project at 74 to enableconnection to be made.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show a simple squeeze pack 75 with a screw cap nozzle76, an impermeable wall 77 carrying or constituted by the heating filmseparating the two cornpartments and extending almost to the very tip ofthe nozzle which is flexible and for cleaning and storage purposes canbe squeezed to fit tightly against the partition as in FIG. 13.

In this example, the heating film extends not only along the partitionbut also along the inside wall of the larger compartment and hasterminals 78 extending through the wall of the pack.

FIGS. 14 and 15 show a similarly partitioned double squeeze pack 79terminating in a transverse passage 81 immediately adjoining thepartition wall 82 and feeding a nozzle 83. The cross section of thepassage is substantially filled by a screw '84 and the mixing of thesubstances occurs in the thread groove of the screw which can bewithdrawn when the pack is closed by a pressure clip (not shown).

It is possible to extend the principle illustrated in FIGS. 10 to 15 topacks with more than two compartments but this is usually unnecessaryfor moulding compounds. In all three examples shown in FIGS. 10 to 14the two substances in the pack are scrupulously separated during storagebut are thoroughly mixed during ejection in the tip of the nozzle. Withsuitable compounds they can immediately be given their final shape as novolatiles need to evaporate. If desired, the heating films can bearranged so that the two substances can be separately and differentlyheated.

Another embodiment which incorporates a flexible tube and may bedescribed at this point is shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. This is a dispenserfor liquids heated in or flowing out through an oval sectioned flexibletube 25 which is inserted in a bottle 86 and incorporated heating filmwith terminals 87. A helical wire insert 88 in the tube allows it to bebent without flattening, and its end is opened or closed by the aid of aclamp 89. If the bottle is rigid, liquid is sucked into the tube andsiphoned out by lowering the outside tube below the level in the bottle.If the bottle is of flexible material, the liquid can be squeezed out ofit through the heated tube. Practically, any beverage or any easilyflowing liquid can be dispensed hot in this way in quantities just asneeded. For chemicals, or pharmaceutical use the tube is preferablygraduated, and being itself flexible liquid can be discharged from thetube alone by squeezing it.

What is claimed is:

1. A package comprising a flexible dispensible closed container withdischarge outlet means and a fluent substance resident therein requiringto be removed from the container and requiring to be heated, adispensible lowvoltage electrically operated film positioned relative tosaid container to receive said substance in intimate heating contacttherewith and pressure controlled discharge means for displacing saidresident fluent substance from its resident position in said containerthrough said discharge outlet contacting said heating film thereby toheat said fluent substance.

2. A package as defined in claim 1, wherein the heating means isdisposed within said container.

3. A package as defined in claim 1, wherein the heating means comprisesa dispensing nozzle attached to said container.

4. A package as defined in claim 1, wherein said pressure controlleddischarge means comprises a deformable structure constituting part ofsaid container.

5. A package as defined in claim 4, wherein said deformable structureconstitutes a portion of the container which is not ruptured by applieddischarge pressure.

6. A package as defined in claim 4, wherein the deformable structure isconstructed to squeeze said substance olf said heating film in saiddischarge flow path.

7. A package according to claim 1, wherein the container is constructedto separate the substance from the heating film, and the discharge meansis constructed to move the substance on to the film for the purpose ofheating the substance.

8, A package according to claim 2 having terminals for said filmextending from said package, removable means covering the terminals, andstructure on said removable means for opening said container to permitsaid substance to be removed therefrom.

9. A package according to claim 1 in which the container is constructedto dispose said heating film to heat only a portion of said container sothat at least a part of the external surface of the complete packageremains cool after the heating operation thereby permitting convenienthandling of the package.

10. A package according to claim 3, wherein the container is collapsibleand is constructed to squeeze said substance through said nozzle whencollapsed.

11. A package according to claim 2, wherein the container is flexibleand includes partition means dividing it into compartments extending tothe tip of the nozzle to keep substances contained in the compartmentsseparated until they are moved into the nozzle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS Switzerland.

VOLODYMYR Y. MAYEWSKY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

